Time Warner to Open Access to EarthLink
Following Pressure by U.S. in AOL Review

By

Martin Peers and

Andrea Petersen Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Nov. 21, 2000 11:16 a.m. ET

In a crucial step toward getting government approval of its merger with America Online Inc., media giant Time Warner Inc. struck a deal with EarthLink Inc. that allows the Internet provider to offer its service on Time Warner's high-speed cable systems.

Time Warner signed the deal under enormous pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, whose review of the pending AOL-Time Warner combination focused heavily on how easily Time Warner would open its cable systems to rival Internet services. Earlier this month, the FTC...